Vacuum actuated positioning aids or devices are utilized in the operating room for positioning patients in the supine, prone and lateral positions. They are most frequently used when the patient is in the lateral position, i.e., on his or her side, for a multitude of surgical procedures, such as brain, chest, kidney, shoulder and hip surgery, to name but a few. The devices typically comprise a flexible air impervious bag containing small, elastically deformable particles or beads which consolidate into a rigid mass when the bag is evacuated. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,404 to Sakita. Devices according to the Sakita patent are sold by Olympic Medical, 5900 First Avenue South, Seattle, Wash. 98108, under the trademark Vac-Pac.RTM., and are available in a variety of sizes.
Devices of this type are typically filled with thousands of tiny, elastically deformable, generally spherical, plastic beads. When a device of this type is in the soft (unevacuated) condition, the beads are free to move around so that the device can be molded to the patient's body. When air is removed (using a vacuum source), atmospheric pressure forces the beads together into a solid mass, comfortably positioning, yet immobilizing the patient in the selected position. Allowing air back into the device returns it to its initial soft condition, ready for re-use.
Currently available positioning aids, however, suffer from a variety of deficiencies. Principal among them is their lack of adequate brachial plexus protection when an anaesthetized patient is immobilized in the lateral position. When an anaesthetized patient is placed in the lateral position and immobilized using one of these devices, the brachial plexus must be protected from stretching and compression. Otherwise serious injury is possible.
Also, currently available aids are not able to be attached to the operating table in a safe and efficient manner. Currently available aids are also not provided with disposable, waterproof slipcovers or shells to protect them from being soiled during surgery.
It is thus the principal object of the present invention to provide an improved vacuum actuated surgical positioning aid that will provide the patient with adequate brachial plexus protection when in the lateral position.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a positioning aid as aforesaid that can easily be secured to the operating table to maintain the immobilized anaesthetized patient in a safe condition.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a positioning aid as aforesaid with a disposable, waterproof protective slipcover or outer shell, which is easily attached and can protect the device from being soiled, thereby to allow the device to be reused many times.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a method of supporting the body of an anaesthetized patient in a selected lateral position, which will provide adequate protection to the patient's brachial plexus.